Bell says 'hear by voice' in early audio recording

WASHINGTON 
Researchers have identified the voice of Alexander Graham Bell for the first time in some of the earliest audio recordings held at the Smithsonian Institution.

The National Museum of American History announced Wednesday that Bell's voice was identified with help from technicians at the Library of Congress and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California.

The museum holds some of the earliest audio recordings ever made. Researchers found a transcript of one recording signed by Bell. The inventor says "hear my voice, Alexander Graham Bell." It was matched to a wax disc recording from April 15, 1885.

The museum also identified the voice of Alexander Melville Bell, the famous inventor's father, in an 1881 recording.

Bell deposited his recording and machine at the Smithsonian in case of a patent dispute.